Oppo Find N will be the Chinese giant's first foldable smartphone: here's when it arrives and the approach followed by the designers for its development
Four intense years of work in research and development, and six generations of prototypes. So much has "cost" to Oppo the development of the first foldable smartphone according to the CPO of the Chinese giant, but now the ambitious project has finally come to fruition, and in less than a week will be official.
Oppo Find N will be the first foldable smartphone of the Chinese company, and will be presented on December 15 during the Inno Day 2021. Oppo has already published an image of the novelty seen in profile, from which we can clearly guess that it will be a product more similar to Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 than Z Flip3. Unfortunately, we do not have any information about its technical characteristics, but Oppo held to anticipate fans how it approached the development of such an ambitious product, and that due to its inherent delicacy may reserve unpleasant surprises to companies that grapple with the development of such a complex product.
The future is foldable
Oppo approached the design of its first foldable Find N smartphone by asking itself a question, the classic one that - we're sure - every smartphone manufacturer asks itself cyclically: "What is the next step for smartphones?". The answer is a consequence of the evolution of the segment. We started from cell phones, i.e. bulky products with a large physical keyboard and a small screen, to proceed in the opposite direction, that is, the one that has led the first to shrink until it disappears and the second to enlarge until it occupies the entire surface available.
A pivotal example of the peak reached can be for example Xiaomi Mix 4, an extreme product because it does not even have the classic interruption of the screen for the arrangement of the selfie camera, which the designers, with great effort, have placed below the screen. But at this point, is it still possible to evolve the concept of the traditional smartphone?
According to Oppo no, we are at a dead end where evolution has reached maximums beyond which there is nothing more to develop. So for the past four years, the R&D team has been working at full capacity, not watching the moves of others. "For Oppo, it's better to introduce a product when it's ready to offer a great user experience, instead of simply chasing trends," explained the Chinese giant's CPO.
The two cornerstone principles of the Oppo Find N
Which goes on to tell the genesis of the foldable Oppo Find N this way: "Although other brands have already introduced foldable devices to the market, barriers such as utility, durability and user experience continue to prevent foldable devices from becoming a concrete everyday option for most people."
So the designers were guided by two principles: the aesthetics of the product, and its ease of use.
"We wanted to achieve a good balance between the two aspects. On a foldable smartphone, the user experience when the screen is closed or open should be equally simple. [...] With Find N, we have solved the main weaknesses of other foldable smartphones, such as display folding and overall device durability, arriving at a reliable hinge and a display that is among the best available today."
Appo will meet you on December 15 to discover Oppo Find N.